STORIES FROM THE PAST
50 years ago
Gargantuan balloons constructed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research may have touched off numerous UFO reports, Alvin L. Morris of NCAR told a meeting of International Association of Architects and Engineers in Mexicali.
“During the days these balloons look like a flat silver disc with flat sides, and at evening they pick up a reddish glow from the setting sun,” he explained.
Although the balloons may account for many of the reported UFO sightings, Morris said that he did not discount the possibility of things existing “which we know nothing about.”
“The large balloons of the 10.6 million cubic-foot-type have a plastic area of over 100,000 square feet. In comparison, the largest sailing ship ever built, the German ship Preussen, carried only 60,000 square feet of sail,” he said. “One of these balloons carried a prototype Mars landing craft to a height of 140,000 feet so the rocket engine could be fired in a Mars-type atmosphere. The cargo weighed over 3,700 pounds.”
40 years ago
Coach Phil Ramsey may have cornered the market on super running backs or so it seemed as his Palo Verde Yellowjackets beat the Imperial Tigers, 30-14, Friday night. The exhibition game featured outstanding offensive and defensive play by the ‘Jackets. They gained 200 yards and shut out Imperial over the final two quarters.
Imperial did give first-year coach Ed Bilderback his first points of the season. Bilderback started 1978 by losing a 32-0 decision to the Calexico Bulldogs.
He said before the game he had been receiving some heat from Imperial’s loyal followers. Fans in Tiger Country aren’t used to suffering lopsided defeats.
Imperial’s faithful should remember Bilderback is building a new program. He is doing so by experimenting in exhibition games. The important Chaparral League clashes are yet to come, two more exhibitions are scheduled first.
30 years ago
Assembly candidate Steve Baldwin’s campaign literature stresses honesty as one reason people should vote for him, but the president of a statewide police officers’ organization today labeled some of the same literature “fraudulent” and “despicable.”
During a press conference at Imperial County Airport, Larry Malmberg, president of the Peace Officers Research Association of California, and Assemblyman Steve Peace, Baldwin’s opponent, chastised the challenger for misrepresenting private security guards as police officers in campaign literature.
“It appears to me that this is nothing but a phonied up photograph; phonied up to imply that peace officers are endorsing this candidate, when in fact I speak for 31,000 police officers and deputy sheriffs in the state of California, and I am here to tell you we do not support Steve Baldwin, we support Steve Peace,” Malmberg said.
In a telephone interview, Baldwin responded by saying that private security firms are commonly used as props for political materials because police officers are prohibited from appearing in these types of advertisements.
20 years ago
BRAWLEY — It is a bizarre story involving a volunteer for the high school district here, the firing of a starter gun and a student.
It is a story of an incident that has brought an investigation by the Brawley Police Department.
On Sept. 18, a volunteer for the Brawley Union High School District Renaissance program, an alternative education program, allegedly pulled out a starter gun like those used in track-and-field events during an activity and fired it.
A starter gun does not fire any projectiles but does make a loud pop when fired.
A student in the program, who asked not to be identified, has alleged the male volunteer didn’t just pull out the gun but aimed it at a female student he was having trouble with and fired it.